is not something that will run by itself. last week we heard about the effort to produce high speed. there are doing it between bakersfield and fresno in california where there are very few people. their intention is to connected to population centers but it will be a long back >> we have the only corridor almost entirely owned by amtrak. that is opposed to the rest of the service. amtrak runs on private rail.

i took the chairmanship in october 2010. the summary of the title is the federal government must stop sitting on its assets. we have taken on gsa and some of the billons' -- buildings that have sat vacant. they continue the effort to get empty buildings filled. the report also talks about the northeast corridor, one of the most valuable assets in the

entire world. it is an asset we are sitting on. it probably would will never be developed to its fullest potential by amtrak. this outlines part of our goal we had heard at that time they had developed those plans in december 2010.

they were going to develop the northeast corridor and it was going to cost $117 billion and take 30 years. the most recent projection we have, they are looking at $151 billion. in 30 years. my premise is that it can be done and a third of the time, probably much less than it cost. they will tell you 31 million. they will tell you their success in the northeast corridor. the figures we have had 12.9

million riders in 2012. recently released figures. the have 11.4 million riders. most of the increase has been in the state partnership rather than totally in the northeast corridor. i think the projector's -- projections are right. you could have as many as 40 million, the number of times more than we currently have. the train runs about 84 miles per hour average. they will tell you they can get up to speeds of 150 to 160 miles per hour. that is not the speed at the way

it is calculated the average miles per hour. the minimum is 1010. almost every high speed trade in the world is running today at 130, 150 miles per hour average. we are in the dark ages spirit have you will probably hear a region in a few minutes, a segment from new york to boston. around 68 miles per hour average. i started to talk about the horrible history highlights of amtrak's attempts. they did require have a train some years ago. very expensive lawsuits went on

and on. they required a european design. you have things that could enhance the speech. amtrak redesigned them to be wider and may be calculated because when the train got to higher speeds and tilted, they would hit. they had put madden -- metal shin's into the tilt trains they bought so they would not killed. -- tilt. the failure went on and on.

wheat closed down most of the operations because they did not have brake parts. they bought equipment for which they did not have parts. another sad chapter. they will tell you they do make money but they do not tell you most of the capital we provide and the congress. that is part of the problem we face.

we have got friends from labor here. i like -- we passed almost every major piece of legislation. we passed the transportation bill they said could not be passed. we passed our coast guard bill and it is on the way ito the presidents of the and -- president of the united states for his signature. fema, which would be the only

remaining item that has not been addressed. i think it is a record that speaks for itself. we have made some progress. i want to tell our labor folks i remain committed week -- we have gone from 29,000 amtrak employees to 29,000. i believe it will be replicated where it makes sense across the united states opportunities for

workers will expand, not contract. we have made progress. we finally got the designation of the northeast corridor by the administration as a high-speed corridor, which was not done before. we are undertaking an environmental review. i am hoping we can assist them. we will hear the more of the progress of that we need to look at improvements so we can move forward. not only with the environmental review, but with construction operation, future maintenance, and with the progress of the northeast commission, we will hear from them today. they are moving in the direction tell you want to make

certain we moved the timetable for lord. the northeast corridor is vital. not only because of the mention i made of congestion and the inner can activity "the baltimore sun" -- an activity, but also the entire country benefits -- the inner connectivity. with those extended comments, and i have to take a little bit of extra time, you get the destruction. that is the bad news. the good news is you will not have to put up with that again. let me yield to my wonderful,

pleasant colleague and the former chair of the city -- committee. >> i want to sincerely thank the chairman for his service as chairman for the committee. i know you really have a deep love and i would ask the committee and the people in the audience to give you a hand for .our service are i want to welcome my classmates. we came together. we are in the grade class of '92 -- 1992. i am happy we are having this hearing today. i really wish it was on the

water resources act, which is something we have not dealt with. i held the meeting yesterday between the courts to find a way to fix the navigation hazard. because the committee has failed to work, those will be continued -- will continue to be in danger. the economic development will continue to suffer. i am pleased at the current leadership of this house, that it was not in charge of the north east corner. it would not exist today just like in california, republicans like the vision on presentation. it will impact our nation koses economic development. it is a-waste for a very long time. let's be clear. the republicans are no friends to rail ferry they talk about

what others do wrong, but they never put the money where their mouth is. they only go for eight years of the bush administration. the sole focus was on destroying amtrak, which is still the focus of this republican house of representatives transportation committee. there is no plan to improve our nation's rail system. no investment made in the new system or even the current system. the bush and administration and the republicans in congress than most of the money rebuilding transportation infrastructure in iraq and afghanistan, more money they spend than right here in the united states. after eight years of what service, president barack obama committed real money to improve our nation's rail system, including the development of high-speed rails and lo and

behold, have the same who did not hesitate 1 cent when they were in charge, are complaining the money was not spend the way they wanted to be spent. the obsession with privatizing the northeast has been limited support and even violates the u.s. constitution. the chairman privatizing language is no private sector proposal for the northeast corner and the real competition act was determined by the nonpartisan congressional resource -- research was determined to violate raising costs. and eliminating long distance service. we agree we need true high speed

rail is in the northeast corridor but we need to have a serious conversation about how this is to happen and they focus solely on privatizing with the goal of making the administration look bad. needs to stop. i want to welcome today's families and thank them for joining us. i look forward to their testimony. i yield back the balance of my time. >> thank you. how they do for your comments. i agree with the first part of her statement rather than the latter part. [laughter] you can tell we have a good report. seeking recognition? >> thank you. thank you for all the hard work. we may not agree on a lot of things.

only a transportation is important to you. it is great. as someone who rides the rails just about every weekend, this corridor is really important to me. i am a rider. i see how it is packed all of the time. i wish we had superspeed. absolutely. it takes me hours to get from work to washington dc. could we make it a lot better? absolutely. the northern region is a very congested area. if you really want to see it, drive up once in a while like i do get on the turnpike.

it is so congested. i would hope in the future we could really, seriously think about high-speed rail this is a region of the country that generates jobs and, more important, it has writer ship to sustain such an investment. i look forward to working in this committee towards that. i want to thank the people who do a great job in trying to accommodate the people. could it be better? absolutely. thank you very much. >> other members seek recognition? ms. johnson? >> thank you.

the northeast corridor is the transportation through some of the most popular metropolitan areas. it is essential for commerce in that we are able to move goods and people up and down the eastern seaboard efficiently. with increased injection -- ingestion, it is releasing its capacity. it an additional 50 million residents will live in the already congested northeast corridor by 2015. a 30% increase. it is for this reason our continued investment is so essential.

the recent thanksgiving holiday has set a record for outreach and for writers ship with 737,000, 500 passengers. the record riders shift brought an $56.1 million. 8.4% increase over 2011. the northeast corridor is profitable and serves as a model for what we can accomplish with small investments in infrastructure and other parts of the country. what is unclear to me is why there has been a constant drumbeat to privatize and to scarf them track of its much- needed funding. as everyone knows, funding for infrastructure, whether it is for rail, transit, is always coming from the public sector. only after we have made

significant investments does it become attracted to the private sector. no one on this committee would suggest it would be a good idea to privatize our roads and would suggest it would be a good idea to privatize. our bridges. yet we come back to the issue again and again. i would suggest a more worthwhile endeavor for the committee would be to check the partisan politics at the door and examine how we can improve and expand all modes of transportation the american people depend upon. i thank you for calling this hearing and look forward to the testimony. i yield back. >> thank you. the gentleman from maryland. >> thank you. i could not let this moment go by without thanking you for your leadership. you and i have served on the

committee for many years. we have served on the oversight and government reform committee. i know you worked very hard to bring about a lot of change in our nation and to our rail system we may not always agree on changes and how they should be made, but i have a tremendous amount of respect for you. i want to thank you for your service. i also want to thank ms. brown for her leadership. and her staunch advocacy for the rail system and particularly amtrak. i could not let the moment ago by again without expressing disagreement with you with regard to unions. unions are very important it was unions that allowed my parents to raise seven children and as former sharecroppers with only

a second grade education, and to extend to college and allow me to be a member of the congress, it was unions. i will fight until i die the for the strength of unions because they play a significanrole. as a representative from maryland, i know how critical the northeast quarter is to ensuring mobility. the corridor is critical and hosts many rail lines, and every year, 11 million passengers, our constituents, ride amtrak in the northeast corridor. the company last week was told it is only expected to increase the population growth. is that not wonderful? it is not as fast as we need. we need modern, high-speed rail service. we need it in the northeast

corridor. i remind us this is america, the greatest country in the world. we should have the best service in the world. for that reason, i strongly support the vision for a high- speed rail, set forth by president obama. to designate the northeast corridor as a high-speed quarter. last week's hearing, i was pleased to the frigid pleased to hear the secretary discuss some of the progress made in the efforts to modernize the infrastructure. i also want them to develop a business plan to attract appropriate, private investment. i strongly oppose any proposal that turns it over to the northeast state. development will cost billions of dollars and it is unrealistic to think the private sector will make the investment alone. i know my home state of maryland, like the other states, does not have the resources

available to develop it. i know last week we heard from edward, the president and ceo of the association of american railroads, who argues there should be one operator and that operator should be amtrac. he stated amtrak is a leader in security and is a great partner for the private sector. significant infrastructure improvements are needed to modernize it and enable it to meet growing demand. in maryland, the tunnel, which carries every train traveling in washington d.c., much more -- must be replaced. the tunnel was opened in 1873. its design limits train speeds to 30 miles an hour. we can and must do better. this is the united states. in an effort to begin the long process that will be required to eliminate this, i support a

conclusion -- and inclusion to work with amtrak, the city of baltimore, the state of maryland, to select and improve a new rail alignment through baltimore that will have an increase in train speed and service reliability. this requires environmental reviews for the new alignment to be complete -- to be completed by 2013. the project is from recovery, $16 million in recovery. so, we move forward. i know we move forward with your blessing. i want to thank you for your tremendous leadership had and i want to thank all of our witnesses for being here today. i yield back. >> thank you. other members? no others. we welcome our colleague, the

honorable carolyn maloney, who represents new york. we will recognize her for a statement. thank you and your welcome. >> thank you. i am truly honored to be here at the final hearing. i want to thank him for his focus to bring high-speed rail to the northeast corridor and the support of the second subway. i appreciate this was held in new york. i would like to say i know this is your last hearing and i know you will keep your focus on the northeast corridor. i would like to challenge you to start a bipartisan caucus of republicans and democrats to work together on all of the affected states and communities because we know how hard it is

to push proposals through congress and make them happen. i truly agree with your analysis that we could cut the price down to one-third and we could cut the time down 1/3 and build it in 10 years. those of us who care about it decide to focus on it. always such a great advocate on high-speed rail. i hope you think about that and i appreciate what you have done already. i want to begin my comments by thanking the men and women of amtrak, the long island rail road, and all transportation workers who have worked around the clock to to risk -- to restore new york after the terrible flooding from hurricanes and become with the worst destruction in 108 years of our transportation system. because of their hard work, our trains are up and running again. in tough economic times, it is critically important to make

needed investments. it can play a simple role. compared to the rest of the world, however trains crawl along. even our most ambitious plans are not anywhere near truly high speed. only 82 miles per hour along the northeast corridor, while some european and asian tranche raised by at more than 180 miles per hour. the connection between two major districts in our country is inches along, 68 miles per hour. imagine if we could cut that and speed that up, how those

business districts with boom. where once american ingenuity brought rail service through the wilderness, from coast to coast, in the kit -- recent decades, the u.s. has failed to invest in the modern fail -- modern system. instead of developing energy efficient mass transit, we have allowed our rail systems to deteriorate. we are not just lagging. we are not even trying to innovate. that is not the american way. i fully understand the tremendous value of access to high-speed passenger rail service along the northeast corridor. it is the busiest rail line in the united states and it is the only amtrak segment that runs a surplus. is making a profit. of all of the places in our nation, high-speed rail makes most sense along the northeast

corridor, which features the most congested road, the densest population, and it has the writer -- ridership to make a profit. from washington to boston, the amtrak stations are located right in city centers. the north east region also has the densest population in the country. 20% of the nation's entire population lived in just this 2% of our land area and our great country. 70% of all chronically late flights originate in the new york area airspace, causing delays across our country. 60% of the north east region miles are considered heavily congested. last year, when florida's governor rejected a high-speed rail funding for his state, i urge our president, mayor,

governor, the new york delegation and other delegation to redirect some of the money to new york. i was pleased he responded with the help of the chairman and the new york delegation by directing 295 million of these funds to a project that will improve the interlocking, and intersection of 14 train tracks were hundreds of trains travel east and west of new york, sorted out each day, and here it is very confusing in -- and delay in. -- and delaying. this project helps eliminate a bottleneck. investing will help relieve delays and pave the way for high-speed rail from new york to boston i consider that the first link -- boston. i consider that the first blank.

thnk.col the need for high-speed rail is so pressing we cannot afford to wait another generation. we used to lead the world in rails. we are now trailing far behind. there is general agreement public and private partnership should be included in a larger planning strategy for the northeast corridor. provides aan template that is worth discussing. new york's governor has met with the delegation and asked us to include public-private partnership. strapped for cash, our state, and i join my colleague -- the state cannot afford this. they do not have the money.

they are open to partnerships as long as unions and worker rights are protected and all the rights that have been put in place for the protection of workers, environment, and other rights. investing now in world class, high-speed rail, with half of a double punish -- would pack a double punch. we are long overdue for high- speed rail and it is time to put this country on the right path -- track. i look forward to the day when high-speed passenger rails are operating in the northeast corridor. if we really support high speed rail, projects we fund have to be successful and they have to be profitable. right now, the northeast corridor is profitable. it is the only corridor that is profitable in the whole nation. investing in high-speed rail

now would boom. my colleague and i travel between new york and boston. usually a four-hour ride. if we could cut that down to an hour and a half or two hours, it would be a boom to economic development. but i applaud your attention to it. i want to be on your team in helping to implement and support transportation in any way. it is vital to our country, but particularly high speed rail very a great country, a great united states falls so behind. how did the most prosperous country, the most innovative country, fall so far behind the rest of the world? you could be in paris and in our and a half be in london writing their highs the rails. you can move across china

throughout their many provinces of high-speed rail. we do not have it happen to have it. we are not even close to it. if it is going to happen, it has to happen with the leadership of you. thank you for listening to me. thank you for all the work you do. i am welcome to any questions. >> thank you. i do not think we will question you. i will ask unanimous consent that she is extended courtesy to sit on our panel after other members have been heard, you will have the opportunity to participate. without objective, -- objection, so ordered. >> thank you. >> i will say two things. you asked about the caucus. i do not make many pledges.

but i did make a pledge when i first ran not to join caucuses. >> working group, then. >> i spent part of my career dismantling committees that have grown into huge prophecies -- huge bureaucracies. i cannot do that. i can tell you i will be focused on two projects. one will be high-speed rail in the northeast corridor, whatever it takes. thank you. we will let you go. we will have a vote. we will turn to our witnesses. >> may i thank the gentleman and chairman for allowing me to join the committee. thank you. when my other meeting finishes, i will come back to join you. >> i had one question.

>> real quick. >> one question. i am 100% in support of high- speed rail in the northeast corridor. one of the problems or challenges is not just high speed. it is making sure the train is there at a certain time, making sure it is reliable and it will be there every day at 10:00 or whatever time. the time from boston to washington is about eight hours, which is ludicrous. as you said, the corridor between new york, boston, and washington, is steep. part of the problem is you have so many local communities. even in your area, when we had the hearing in new york, it is not just amtrak. this it is several agencies, several communities this

involves. it is not just you as big government cannot come in and say we will do it this way. it is pulling all of those communities together. you do not have to do it now, but we cannot come in as a federal government and say, we will do it this way. these are already built up. >> i thank you for your question. when the high speed money is returned, you expressed they were sending it back and i appreciate -- you were pushing to have in florida. your governor had another decision. we reacted. i went to the transportation hub and director in our region, and first proposed they go after getting the high-speed rail between new york and washington. they said it would be so difficult because of what you just said, it is extremely built

up along the corridor, very built up, and they could not see how they could build that quickly because of the communities that were blocking it and the fact that we did not own the rail. they said we own the rail. and that that would be much easier. they said, shift your focus to new york and boston. with the governor's support, that is what we did. that is why we need a task force for a meeting, i do not care what you call it, of members of congress who are affected by the rail line to get together and make it happen, to get the community is behind it and it goes through many states. it would have to be a collective state-led members of congress from the state's working to help make it happen.

they own a lot of lines. it is not as dense. it goes through the countryside. it is not going to cities as much. going through new york and washington, you know i would love to cut that time down. i am on that train every week. boston and new york makes sense. it would be more economical. there would be less hindrance of already built up neighborhoods and it could be done quicker and cheaper. i think it is important for those of us who support high speed rail to have success. we want to make money and shall america this is something we should invest in and that it will pay dividends and we should be building it in every state. there are certain areas in new york where it will not make money. the writer -- if we could build

the line, we could make money. >> we do not want to get into too much debate because we have a large panel of witnesses. thank you so much. i will ask the other witnesses if they will begin. she is the deputy administrator. joe is a witness. the chair of the northeast corner. richard, the american enterprise institute, mr. perry, who is the

managing director of morgan stanley, and john. i want to welcome all of our witnesses. they will call a vote in a few minutes. if you have a lengthy statements, it will be committed to the record. when we are finished with everyone, we will go to questions. thank you for joining us. we will turn first to carolyn, the deputy administrator. welcome. you are recognized. >> thank you very much. >> hold that up as close as you can. it is a little hard to hear. >> thank you. it is a great honor to testify before the committee during its

final hearing with you at the helm. you have achieved significant legislative accomplishments during your tenure and your oversight and interest has really strengthened our agency while improving transportation often throughout the country -- options throughout the country. this morning, i also thank you for the opportunity to discuss our planning and development efforts in the northeast corridor, which has been stated as one of the most valuable assets in the united states. the details about the efforts, which were called the future, are detailed in my written mission. as we look ahead, we know the real market is as strong and full of potential as any in the country. the time has come to plan for and invest in the future of the northeast corridor. we are moving throat region

moving forward with a strategy for its medium and long-term needs. we are overseeing a comprehensive regional planning effort. this multistate transportation planning project is one of the largest ever undertaken in the united states. we look to invest in the next generation. our initial focus up with this project is to thoroughly understand the true needs of the market. this is going to be a market- based assessment, and we will know from the beginning what types of rail services will be needed to meet future demand. we are seeking innovative ways to enhance the planning and environmental process.

that is an important issue for you. as part of that effort, who earlier this year it was selected by the council on environmental quality to engage stakeholders and the resources and regulatory agencies early on in the planning process. we expect that will produce some significant time savings as we go to the environmental process. we must -- is important that we continue to invest and all transportation modes, not just rail, but the public benefit of the northeast corridor are central to transportation planning for the following reason. transporting more people by trains will take pressure off the region's airports, which are both overburdened and out of room to grow. when targeted to the market, rail is the most cost-effective,

least oil-reliant, and most environmentally friendly mode. current investments are adding or upgrading the track, modernizing our system, reducing delays, and we're working to upgrade stations from york to boston, and we're moving forward with engineering projects to replace some of the most complex projects, the portal bridge, the susquehanna bridge, and this will be an enormous undertaking. we can agree to position the northeast corridor we need a vision and framework that will allow this vision to move forward. this will provide us with an immediately actionable plan, a blueprint to guide our actions, and we will complete this part of this process. we have already seen how the impact to cell service can dominate the real market, but we note demand out there currently that is not met and the demand will continue to rise, and ultimately we cannot meet that demand without a sustained commitment from the

government. it is up to us to rise to that challenge to us as we have so many times in the past. we have been recently reminded of this after hurricane sandy, which caused unprecedented damage. after efforts to restore services, we saw a picture of how the central the northeast corridor is to put the economy and a way of life. it makes you think, what of alexander cassatt, the president of the pennsylvania railroad, would have thought in the 19th century? today penn station accommodates 550,000 passengers today. in 1900, those tunnels were called to expensive, impossible to build. some of cassatt's shareholders thought he was nuts, but can you imagine new york today without it? sandy showed us what new york was without it. it is up to us to create division to do the planning, to execute the project that will ensure we hold true to the basic promise come as the secretary said last week that the america

is greater and stronger than the mayor cut our parents left for us, i look forward to answering your questions. >> thank you. i have one quick thing. have you read that book? >> yes, i have, with great interest. >> you are recognized. welcome back. >> thank you, and thank you for your service. one of the other things i would like to thank you about is that you have put a focus on this corridor, and i appreciate that. we have put a vision out in 2010, and by january he began to have hearings, but february of that year, and i would like to summarize, february of that year we proposed a the project to support that vision, and in march, we named the u.s. dot as a federal corridor. you already identified that. by may, you were awarded $450 million to improve speed in new jersey, in what we call a

raceway. by june, we were in a situation where we had a peer review by our european and asian partners. in august, which began a plan with kpmg to understand how we can work the private sector and how the public-private partnerships might work. in november the board approved the amtrak strategic plan, which included the creation of the infrastructure development business line. in february of 2012, fra launched the northeast corridor future, an initiative to prepare the scoreboard which was necessary for us to move forward with. by july, amtrak -- and you were there and the rap sheet -- amtrak was a signature sponsor and participant for high-speed rail and was the first to take place in the united states. we also updated and integrated the high-speed rail division with the northeast corridor master plan, and the completed

the northeast corridor business and finance plan at that point. this past september, using the acela express equipment, we operated at speeds of 165 miles an hour to demonstrate that we can do those speeds in several locations along the corridor for improvement. this morning to not what i want to tell you is that we are not going to add any additional trains or cars to the acelas than we have an originally planned. they were too expensive, and what we need to do is replace them with a new set of trains and equipment, and our expectation is we'll have a request for information in february or early this next year to make that happen. i have told our folks they need to get this done by the time i am 70, and i will be 64 next week. thank you. >> thank you, and let me now recognize and welcome joan mcdonald, chairman of the

northeast corridor infrastructure and operations advisory commission. >> thank you and good morning. good to see you. members of the committee, the northeast corridor commission was authorized by congress in recognition of the challenges of coordinating, financing, and implementing a major system improvements across multiple jurisdictions. the exhortation is that by coming together we will take collective responsibility for the northeast corridor. realizing a boulder vision for the future does require unprecedented collaboration. comprehensive planning is

difficult for a system that has spanned eight states and the district of columbia, supports nine passenger rail operations, supports for freight roads, and has four separate infrastructure owners. the northeast corridor line is one of the busiest and most complex railways in the world. it carries over 2200 commuter, and inner-city, and freight trains every weekday. these trains carry over 750,000 passengers daily. the northeast corridor must balance a key investment needs just to maintain the safety and reliability of current services with the need to address growing service demand. hundreds of the corridor's

electrical connections are more than a century old and major portions of the corridor's electric power supplies were installed in the 1930's, and we saw what happened with the electrical system during sandy. amtrak services and others intersect facilities and mean delays to anyone service could cascade and adversely affect the on-time performance of all rail services. with major segments at or near capacity, all services that utilize the corridor are increasingly susceptible to

service disruptions resulting from infrastructure failures. in january the commission will release a report on the corridor's critical infrastructure investment needs. input was provided by amtrak, states, and the freight railroads through a collaborative process. while nine states are part of this organization in this commission, and we recognize that the assets are in individual states, we recognize those assets transcend geographical boundaries. it is one corridor. the commission's authorizing legislation directs we develop a cost-allocation methodology for use in the corridor that

ensures that there is no cross- subsidization between the services. our aim is for this process to set a foundation for increased federal and state investment in the corridor's infrastructure. in return, for increased state investment, we are exploring options to redress the governance of the corridor to ensure that the states are equal partners in the decision-

making process. our goal is to have a recommended cost-allocation methodology by the end of this fiscal year. we are engaged in its activities is examining the long-term rail needs in partnership with the fra's program. hurricane sandy gave us a vision into the chaos that would ensue without vital rail assets that are so critical to the economy of our region. we all watched as our elected leaders prioritized the reconnection of rail service to get the region moving again. we commend the railroad and transit employees who made heroic efforts to restore the services as quickly as possible. the corridor is a national resource and, along with the i- 95 corridor, the transportation backbone of the northeast region. the current path is unsustainable. their reliability of existing

service is threatened by capacity stress points and its needs. meeting our future needs due to increasing demand for these services is simply not possible without significant investment in and new capacity. in short, the commission is planning for the feature at the same time that we are looking to address the very significant challenges that the corridor is facing today. on behalf of my fellow commissioners, i want to extend our appreciation for this committee's strong support for the northeast corridor, and we look forward to continue this partnership. i want to thank you, chairman mica, your support of the corridor, we look forward to a continued dialogue with him. >> welcome, and you are recognized. >> thank you. i appreciate the opportunity to be back and speak to the committee once again. i would want to note that in addition to my affiliation with the american enterprise institute, i am a professor at cornell university. this semester, with a cornell graduate, whose company developed ezpass, i have started a new program at cornell, and i have information about that. that is to educate future generations of students and young people on the important issues that this committee addresses. i hope to work with the committee in the future and hopefully with yourself in developing this program. i think it is one of only two programs that are operational in the united states, focusing on infrastructure policy. i would like to draw everyone possible attention to that and seek your advice on that. i want to address a few things regarding the topic that the committee is focusing on today, which is the northeast

corridor's future. there are key issues i would like to address. the first is to get a concept on a table which is relevant for this debate, that is absent, which is a concept of a residual claim, which sounds like an academic concept, as well as residual claimants. second, i want to be clear with you about the advantages that i think private participation in the northeast corridor can bring to the nation. third, i would like to emphasize that the gains from private participation as judging from a number of studies that focus on this do not come from reducing wages once you get more participation.

they come from increased the value creation and capture the incentives and skills of the private sector partners that you bring in. i want to emphasize that through competitive public- private partnerships, it is possible for the public sector to realize the value associated with private participation now to end up front concession payment.

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>> we invite you to join with us in in psalm 23 in which away you know it. the lord is my shepherd, i shall not want. he may get me to lay down in green pastures. edith me beside the still waters. he restores my soul. he pleaded for me to the path of righteousness for his name's sake. though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, i will fear no evil for thou art with

me, the rod and the staff comfort me. though prepares a table before me in the presence of mine enemy. thow anoint my head with oils and my cup runneth over. goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and a will dwell in the house of the lord forever. >> let us pray. >> god in heaven, we thank you for your presence here with us on earth. we know that the children who were lost in this tragedy first belonged to you before they belong to us. and we commit their souls to

you, to your living eternal care. we think you lord that they are now in a place of no more sickness, no more sadness no more suffering and no more finally nothere's more say in in the presence of view -- of you. dear lord, as we leave the children that we have lost in your hands, we ask that, by your grace, you would in powerless to bless -- you would empower us to bless and comfort the children who are still here in our hands. please with -- please be with them in a special way, siblings and friends.

life will never be the same for them. we ask that you help these precious little ones to carry the spirit of their lost loved ones in their hearts as the golan living their lives to its fullest according to your will for each of these girls and boys. and, lord, we asked, most of all, that you would use us to be a source of your healing in the midst of their wounds, that you would use those of us whose children are crying for hope as a source of your hope in the midst of any hopelessness as you are the god of hope. use us to replace their anxiety with your piece as you are the

got a piece. and please, fill their hearts with the sense of your love, your presence, your power and, most of all, a sense of your care, not knowing what the future holds, but knowing the you hold it as you hold it precious little ones were still with us today in your hands through our hands. and lord, we asked the so in the name of the one who said, unless we become like little children, we cannot ask for the kingdom of god. make a small child life and not childish and our thoughts, in their words, in our attitudes and actions and behavior is, not

only before others, but before you. that we may look to you for better days ahead and that we may fulfill your -- for us on this earth. we pray all of this in the name of our precious lord and savior jesus. amen.

[prayer]

>> in the name of god, the compassionate and the merciful. the muslim community and with our fellow americans grieving with those who died in this senseless tragedy and praying for them and their families. we ask god to grant those lost a special place in paradise and we ask their families to be granted the strength to endure the unendurable. it is in such times of unbearable loss that we seek comfort with our creator and that artificial divisions of faith fall away to reveal a nation of mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, all united in the desire to bring healing and a

new hope. the koran tells us that god's mercy and compassion is without limit and always available for those who ask. god says, when my servants question you about me, tell them that i am near. i am to the prayer of every person who called on me. chapter 2, verse 186. in the koran, got also says give glad tidings to those who endure with patience, who, when afflicted with calamity, say, we belong to god and to whom we shall return. such are the people on whom there are blessings and mercy from god. chapter 2, verse 155-27. so let us all of every faith, of

every background pray for god comfort that the time of heartbreaking tragedy. verily, with every difficulty, there is ease. barely, with every difficulty, there is ease. amen. >> paper for the first responders. let us pray. holy god, many of these men and women you called into service when they were just children they wanted to be police officers and firefighters and care for those who were in need. you gave them gifts for their

life to serve you must to them to pay a high price for all the skills that they have been given, for the strength that they have. you eat cooked them. you give them a willingness to learn, to train, to study you gave them a willingness to

serve in the middle of the night when a call would come in. and you gave them the willingness to respond when this town needed them the most. lord, we thank you for those in this town that responded, but we thank you also for those throughout the state that came when the need was given. we thank you, lord, for their gifts and their strength and their courage. so we ask you lord to walk with them in the days ahead, to surround them with your angels, to give them people who will listen to their story, to listen to what they saw that was not for anyone to ever see. lord, we place each and every one of these men and women in your care. but we will be faithful to them. we will care for them, we will continue to equip them and we will keep them ever in our prayers, amen.

>> for the mothers and the father's and the brothers and sisters and grandparents, for all of you today, this is part of the sacred text. it was written as a letter to a mother who was mourning the loss of her child. i adapted it for this evening. >> although the loss of a child is indeed heart breaking and beyond the limits of human endurance, one who know eth and

understand eth is assured that the child has not been lost, but rather has stepped from this world to another and you will find them in the i did have divine realm. that reunion shall be for eternity. while in this world separation is inevitable and bring with it a burning grief. praise be unto god that thou has faith, our turning think fice toward the everlasting kingdom and believe in the existence of a heavenly world. do not languish, do not sy, negotiate wail nor weep, for agitation and mourning deeply affect the soul, their soul in the divine realm.

>> the beloved child address thee from the hidden world, oh kind mother and father, thank divine providence that i have been freed from a small and gloomy cage and like the birds of the meadows have sword to the divine world, a world which is spacious, illumined and ever joyous and jubilent. lament not mother and father and be not grieved, aim not of the lost nor have i been obliterated and destroyed. i have shaken off the mortal form. following this separation is ever lasting companionship.

thousand shalt find me in the -- thou shalt find me in the heaven of the lord immersed in an ocean of light. >> think god, we call you by many names, great spirit, higher power, divine one, but however we address you, you are always father and mother to us all. and we are your children, we are your family. we ask your blessing lord upon the counselors and the clergy and all the care givers among us, they have great passion for

what they do. and when everyone does their passion, we arrive at compassion. and we thank you. awarew that you're most of their needs. they too become tired and sometimes close to burning out, how much we need one another. when you call jeremiah or amos and all your precious apostles and prophets, they hedged at first, but each time in turn they gave their yes and they followed you knowing that you were always among them, always supporting them.

they were conduits for your eyes and ears and voice and hands. they were the clay knowing that you always were the potter and they were resilient in your hands. when jesus felt the need to get away for some respite himself he went to the mountains or into the wilderness or out to the seashore and the great numbers of people in need always followed. tired and drained as he was, he looked on them with compassion. anoint all your people, lord, all those who minister to you as they minister to one another especially this week as they minister to the body, mind and

spirit, to the whole community of sandy hook and newtown, a model for the nation, a model for the world. and we thank you for the world support, calling, e-mailing, texting their love and their commitment to be with us. use them, lord, take the passion that each one has and transform it totally, completely into your spirit of compassion. and we ask this all, amen, amen.

>> newtown is a place that loves children above all. families move to newtown because we are a caring and loving community. we are also a place that has great pride in our schools, pride that propel it is students in those schools with their outstanding teachers and administrators to high achievement and great personal worth. the horror that was visited upon our sandy hook school was not deserved. it is the angry and desperate act of a confused young man. there is no blame to be laid on us. but there is a great burden and a great challenge that these families devastated by unspeakable harm know and trust

that we love them and will do everything we can to help them heal. i know that newtown will prevail, that will not fall to abilities of violence. -- that we will not fall to acts of violence. it is a defining moment for our town, but it does not define us. we are newtown, a special and caring place. we are defined by acts of courage, by acts of love and by our continuing commitment and love for our children and families. it is my pleasure to present to you ladies and gentlemen, governor dan malloy. [applause]

>> pat, thank you for all of the great work that have you done for this community in the last three days to the police chief and the superintendent of schools, thank you for your great service as well to all of the first responders, thank you. when i came in to the hall, one of the first songs to be played was amazing grace which is fitting for any number of reasons. firstecome an anthem for responders. it has great words. it also speaks of the power of faith. amazing grace was written by a former sea captain engaged in

the slave trade. and those profound words that i once was lost and now am found speak to us on a day like today when we are called upon, ner i say required to be invested in our faith, in this room and in this community at this time. a faith that is after all at its very core a gift from god. a faith in which we find comfort and hope and compassion. a faith in which we are given power to go on, to survive that which has befallen on this community, these families, these spouses, that which has happened and is unimagineable

and unthinkable and was never we thought intended to be upon us in connecticut or in newtown or in sandy hook. i choose to think about the fact that in the coming days we will officially enter winter. and that is always to be followed by the spring. let me assure you that in winter each time i see the beginning of a snowfall, i will be thinking of those 27 souls lost just a few days ago. each time the day gets a little longer, i will think and dream of the lives that might have

been and the lives that were so full of grace. and when the flowers start to come out of the ground and when they rise up, i will know that we are in touch with those that we have lost in the last few days. we will go on, we will find strength. faith is a gift as is our ability to support one another in our greater community. profound condolences on behalft of all of your fellow citizens for what you have seen, for what you have witnessed and for what have you personally experienced. we will move on, we will never forget, we will in many ways be made stronger for what has

transpired and we will get better. we are blessed today to have with us the president of the united states who upon meeting with pat and i just a little while ago said that the most difficult day of his presidency was friday when he heard the news of that which had befallen this community. i assured him that connecticut, newtown and sandy hook are strong. and i welcomed him on your behalf to our community. i now introduce the president of the united states. [applause]

>> thank you governor. to all the families, first responders, to the community of newtown, clergy, guests, scripture tells us to not lose heart. though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day. for light and troubles are

achieving for us an eternal glory that out weighs them all. so we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. for we know that the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from god, the eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. we gather here in memory of 20 beautiful children and 6 remarkable adults. they lost their lives in a school that could have been any school, in a quiet town full of good and decent people, that could be any town in america.

here in newtown, i come to offer the love and players of a nation -- prayers of a nation. i am very mindful that mere words cannot match the depths of your sorrow, nor can they heal your wounded hearts. i can only hope it helps for you to know that you're not alone in your grief. our world too has been torn apart, that all across this land of ours we have we want with -- we have wept with you. we pulled our children tight. and you must know that whatever measure of comfort we can provide, we will provide,

whatever portion of sadness we can share with you to ease this heavy load, we will gladly bear it. newtown, you are not alone. as these difficult days have unfolded, you've also inspired us with stories of strength and resolve and sacrifice. we know that when danger arrived in the halls of sandy hook elementary, the school staff did not flinch, they did not hesitate. they responded as we all hope we might respond in such

terrifying circumstances, with courage and with love giving their lives to protect the children in their carry -- care. we know there were other teachers who barricaded themselves inside class rooms and kept steady through it all and reassured their students by saying wait for the good guys, they are coming. show me your smile. and we know that good guys came. the first responders who raced to the scene helping to guide those in harm's way to safety and comfort those in need,

holding at bay their own shock and their own trauma because they had a job to do. and others needed them more. and then there were the scenes of the school children helping one another, holding each other, dutifully following instructions the way sometimes youn children do. one child even trying to encourage a grown up saying i know karate so it's okay, i'll lead the way out. as a community, you've inspired us, newtown, in the face of indescribable violence, in the face of unconsciousable evil,

you've looked out for each other and you've cared for one another and you've loved one another. this is now newtown will be remembered. grace,h time and god's that love will see you through. but we as a nation, we are left with some hard questions. someone once described the joy and anxiety of parenthood as the equivalent of having your heart outside of your body all the time walking around. with their very first cry, this most precious vital part of

ourselves, our child is suddenly exposed to the world, possible mishap or malice. and every parent knows there is nothing we will not do to shield our children from harm. and yet we also know that with that child's very first step and each step after that they are separating from us, that we can't always be there for them. --y'll surf sickness and set sickness and set backs and broken hearts and disappointments. and we learn that our most

important job to give them what they need to be self-reliant and capable and resilient and ready to face the world without fear. and we know we can't do this by ourselves. it comes as a shock at a certain point where you realize no matter how much you love these kids, you can't do it by yourself. this job of keeping our children safe and teaching them well is something we can only do together with the help of friends and neighbors, the help of a community and the help of a nation. and in that way we come to realize that we bear responsibility for every child because we are counting on everybody else to help look after ours.

we are all parents, they are all our children. this is our first task, caring for our children. it's our first job. if we don't get that right, we don't get anything right. that's how as a society we will be judged. and by that measure, can we truly say as a nation that we are meeting our obligations? can we honestly say that we are doing enough to keep our children, all of them, safe from harm? can we claim as a nation that we're all together there letting them know that they are

loved and teaching them to love in return? can we say that we're truly doing enough to give all the children of this country the chance they deserve to live out their lives in happiness wand -- in happiness and with purpose? i've been reflecting on this the last few days and if we're honest with ourselves, the answer is no. we're not doing enough and we will have to change. since i've been president, this is the fourth time we have come together to comfort a grieving community torn apart by mass shootings. the fourth time we've hugged survivors, the fourth time we've con sold the families of familiesconsoled the

of victims. and in between there have been endless shootings across the country and many of them children in small towns and big cities all across america, victims who much of the time their only fault was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. we can't tolerate this anymore. these tragedies must end. and to end them, we must change. we will be told ha the causes of -- we will be told that the causes of such violence are complex and that is true. no single law, no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world or prevent every

senseless act of violence in our society. but that can't be an excuse for inaction. surely we can do better than this. if there is even one step we can take to save another child or another parent or another town from the grief that has visited tucson and aurora and oak creek and newtown and communities from columbine before that then -- from columbine to blackburg before that then surely we have an obligation to try. in the coming weeks i'll use whatever power this office holds to engage my fellow citizens, from law enforcement to mental health professionals to parents and educators in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this because what choice do we have?

we can't accept events like this as row teen. -- as routine. are we really prepared to say that we are powerless in the face of such carnage, that the politics are too hard? are we prepared to say such violence visited upon our children year after year after year is somehow the price of our freedom? in all the world's religions so many of them represented here today start with a simplewhat g? what gives our acts purpose? we know our time on this earth is fleeting.

we know that we will each have our share of pleasure and pain, that even after we chase after some earthly goal whether it's wealth or power or fame or just simple comfort, we will in some fashion fall short of what we had hoped. we know that no matter how good our intentions we'll all stumble sometimes in some way, we'll make mistakes, we'll experience hardships and even when we're trying to do the right thing, we know that much of our time will be spent groping through the darkness so often unable to discern god's heavenly plans. there is only one thing we can be sure of and that is the love that we have for our children,

for our families, for each other. the warmth of a small child's embrace, that is true. the memories we have of them, the joy that they bring, the wonder we see through their eyes, that fears and boundless -- that fierce and boundless love we feel for them, a love that takes us out of ourselves and binds us to something larger. we know that's what matters. we know we're always doing right when we're taking care of them, when we're teaching them well, when we're showing acts of kindness. we don't go wrong when we do that.

that's what we can be sure of. peoplet's what you, the of newtown, have reminded us. that's how you've inspired us. you remind us what matters. that's what should drive us forward in everything we do for as long as god sees fit to keep us on this earth. threat little children come to -- let the little children come to me jesus said and do not hinder them for to such belong it is kingdom of heaven. charlotte, daniel, olivia, joseph phone, anna, dillon, -- josephine, anna, dillon,

madelyn, katherine, chase, jesse, james, grace, emily, jack, noah, car line, jessica, -- noah, carolyn, jessica, benjamin, alley son, god has -- elijah, allison, god has called them all home. for those of us who remain, let us find the strength to carry on and make our country worthy of their memory. may god bless and keep those

we've lost in his heavenly place. may he grace those we still have with his holy comfort and may he bless and watch over this community and the united states of america. [applause]

>> on behalf of the newtown clergy association we are so grateful to our president for spending time was and for reminding us that we are not alone in this time of tragedy, that there is not just a country standing behind us, that there is a world standing behind us. those words as difficult as they were to hear for some brought consolation to some. i want to thank the government officials who have been by our side since day one. they have reminded us of their humanity and care for us. i want to thank an incredible

select woman who has led us through the most dark periods of our lives. [applause] when storms of the past years ravished our community for power for days i thought those were the hardest. when i saw her friday in front of sandy hook school. i knew she had met the darkest days. pat, to you and to dr. robinson, we thank you for being leaders to us through these difficult times. and now this final part of our

prayer is for us, the people of newtown. >> these are the words of the apostle paul as he writes to the church at rome. what shall we say in response to this, if god is for us, who can be against us. he who did not spare his own son but gave him up for all of us. how will he graciously give us all things. who will bring any charge against those god has chosen, it is god who justifies, who is he that condemns? christ jesus who died, more than that who was raced to life is at the right-hand of god is also interceding for us. who shall separate us from the love of christ, shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? as it is written for your sake

we face death all day long, we are considered sheep to be slaughtered. mpno, in all these things we are more than conquerors for him who loved us. i am convinced that negotiate death nor life, negotiate angels or demons negotiate height nor death nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of god that is in christ jesus our lord. [applause] >> so we stand now in prayer for ourselves. our hearts are broken but our spirits are strengthened by the power of god's good and his ever -- god's goodness and his ever creating love and by the generous hearts of a community who truly cares. we have shown to the world our

compassion. you have placed on our shoulders a burden of unimaginable pain. you have put in our heart to work together to make of this world a place of justice, of peace of truth for our people, especially for our young. we thank you this night for our community leaders who have walked a dark road helping us find a light. we praise you for men and women in his love for each other have given us children that we might guide and encourage them. we seek your wisdom as our administrators and educators continue to teach our children ways which will strengthen them to be productive and positive citizens of this world, to only bring good. not harm or hurt. we pray this which you will doubt

we pray this will soon be replaced with a culture of life that embraces every person with human dignity. we are brought to you tonight in our prayer, those who have been lost, those whose hearts are broken forever. we bring your 20 new stores in the heavens, 20 new state and angels. those who risked their lives every day, not counting the costs, and we bring to you those who guide, those who counsel, those who bless and embrace the confused and broken, and we bring to view ourselves are broken this, our questions, our doubts, and our anger in our hearts, and we pray for the peace, hope, and renewal of trust that can come only from a god who first conceived as in love and places and hands of compassion on our shoulders,

even in these challenging times, so tonight in our community, we ask you to heal the broker innocents -- the brokenness, to replace our anger with peace and are hurt with healing. god, we thank you for this town. we thank you for its people, and we thank you for the opportunity to stand together and not fall apart. amen. now a final blessing of hope through faith in jesus christ from the words of st. john to st. paul. i heard a loud voice from the

throne saying, behold the dwelling place of god is within man. he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and gone will be with them as their god. -- god will be with them as their god. he shall wipe away every year from their eyes, and to death shall be no more. neither shall there be morning or crying -- mourning or crying or pain. for the former things have passed away. he who was seated on the throne said, behold, i am making all things, and a decrease of our lord, jesus christ, the love it -- made the grace of our lord, jesus christ, the love of our god, and the holy spirit be with you all. amen. i asked you to please take your seats until i can receive confirmation the president has safely exited and now the

school campus. i do not know who that confirmation is going to come from. allow me to say while we wait for that we encourage all of you on behalf of the town clergy, give to one another all the love and care and support you can, and clergy will be available for you at this time at the platform for a time of prayer according to teachings and believes, so please wait until i hear that confirmation, and comfort one another.

ladies and gentlemen, we have received that confirmation hearing gave -- that confirmation. give one another the love you can. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] ♪ ♪ ♪

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[no audio] >> today, and jack lane simon from the federation of government employees talk about the impact on federal workers. and previous in the electoral college voting process and david mauer explains the department of common security program that gives money to states to prevent, respond to, and recover from a terrorist incident. "washington journal" live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> this week on "q&a," pulitzer prize-winning author anne prize-winning author anne applebaum discusses her new